Jonas Junland
www.eliteprospects.com

Jonas Junland

Hometown:

Linkoping Sweden

Currently Playing In:

Europe

Birthday:

1987-11-15
Position:

D
Eligible for draft:

2006
Shoots:

Left
Drafted:

2006
Height:

6-2
Acquired:

3rd round (64th overall), 2006
Weight:

198 lbs.
Prospect Talent Score
7.0

About Prospect Talent Score and Probability of Success»

Probability of Success
  • C

History

2005-06: Junland had incredible development this past season, being the highest scoring defenseman in the Swedish juniors. His numbers, 40 points including 17 goals in 32 games, are quite remarkable for a defenseman. He added about 16 pounds of muscle before this past season and it had a very good affect on his play.

2006-07: Junland played most of his season with SEL finalist Linkopings. He fared well, despite his youth, and enjoyed an excellent playoff run, which saw him net five points in 15 games. He also played briefly with the junior team and in Allsvenskan league in preparation for the World Juniors, a tournament where he was one of Team Sweden’s top players.

2007-08: Junland played in a career-high 52 games for Linkopings HC (SWE) this season. The blueliner recorded three goals and 17 assists, and added another seven points (4g+3a) in 16 postseason games.

2008-09: In his first taste of North American hockey, Junland was a potent offensive defenseman for the AHL's Peoria Rivermen. He scored 13 goals, 18 assists for 31 points in 70 games, earning a spot in the AHL All-Star game. He skated in 5 playoff games with Peoria, scoring 1 assists and 6 PIMs. He also made his NHL debut with St. Louis, but did not score in 1 game.

2009-10: Junland again spent much of the season with Peoria, scoring 14 goals, 30 assists in 74 games. His 44 points led the team's defensemen and his 11 power play goals led the entire team. He played in the AHL All-Star game for the second consecutive year and got a little longer look in St. Louis, appearing in 3 NHL games and notching 2 assists.

2010-11: Junland was tendered a qualifying offer by the Blues in June 2010 but chose to sign a one-year contract with Farjestads BK in Sweden's Elitserien. He scored 5 goals with 17 assists and was +7 with 18 PMs in 41 regular season games. Farjestads finished tied with HV71 and Skelleftea atop the league standings with 96 points and won the playoff title. In 14 playoff games Junland scored 3 goals with 3 assists and was +8 with 12 PMs.
 

Talent Analysis

Junland is a good skater and has fine hands. Hockey sense is good and big strength of his is the way he gets the puck on the target. Junland has a good shot that is very accurate. Looking at the parts of his game that Junland should improve, his defensive awareness could still use some fine tuning. He could also play more determined and more physical at times. Also, sometimes Junland tends to overwork easy situations.

Future

Junland is now playing for Astana Barys in the KHL.

Steve Kariya Profile

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#18 – Senior, Captain
University of Maine Black Bears
C/LW
5′ – 7″, 170 lbs
North Vancouver, British Columbia

Breakdown: An exciting and explosive playmaker that has anchored UMaine’s top line for three seasons. Recorded a hat trick in JC Penney Tournament final. Scored a pair of goals in early-season win over nationally ranked New Hampshire. Named Most Valuable Player of both tournaments that UMaine has played in (1998 JC Penney Hockey Classic and 1998 Governors Cup Tournament). Named Hockey East Player of Week (November 30). First Hockey East player to ever receive the Len Ceglarski Sportsmanship Award twice. Third in the Nation in total points. Ranks eighth in the nation in points per game and seventh in assists per game. Leads UMaine with 13 multi-point games. Named games First Star four times this year. What is said about Steve Kariya? He has tremendous skill. Hes a game-breaker who keeps the other team back on their heels. If Steve Kariya isnt the best player in the league, he is one of the top two (Quote From University of Maine) What Can We Expect? Steve is a great player. Although he is not to be confused with his brother, sensation and NHL megastar, Paul Kariya, his style of hockey is similiar. He will be a key part in the Canucks organization and will likely be playing as soon as next year.
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MoDo Hockey and the NHL Draft: A Proud Tradition Continues

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In English, the name Örnsköldsvik means “Eagle Shield’s Bay.” To hockey fans, it means something else; the home of MoDo Hockey’s now-legendary junior development program. To date, MoDo Hockey has had 28 of their players selected in the NHL Entry Draft. Among Swedish clubs, only Färjestad BK (29) has had more.

The MoDo draft legacy began in 1976, when the NHL draft did not draw nearly as much attention as it does today, especially not in Europe. While European players in the NHL were still relatively few in number, however, the trend was starting to grow by 1976. Following the success of Börje Salming (and to a lesser extent, Inge Hammarström), NHL teams had begun to look more seriously to Sweden as a talent source for the league. This was a radical departure from the days when even the weakest NHL teams gave no consideration to trying to sign top Swedish stars like Sven “Tumba” Johansson and Leif “Honken” Holmqvist. The NHL success of Salming and the strength of the Soviet hockey machine forced NHL teams to sit up and take notice. There were 5 Swedes chosen in the 1976 NHL draft, including Björn Johansson, who became the first European to be selected in the first round of the NHL draft. 1976 was also the year that MoDo had their first player chosen, when Thomas Gradin became the third pick (45th overall) of the Vancouver Canucks. Gradin went on to become a scoring star for Vancouver, making a lot of NHL teams kick themselves for having been beaten to the punch by the Canucks. Today, Gradin heads the Canucks European scouting department.
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Swedish Prospect Profiles

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on

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JOHN WIKSTRÖM, 6’5″, 205 lbs, D, 300179, Luleå – 129th 1997, Detroit

HF Comments: John finished the past season in Mörrum (SWE 1st division) after a less successful attempt to play in North America. The season before, he tried out in Piteå HC, also 1st division, but didn’t make it so he was sent back to Luleå juniors. Already at the age of 17, he made his first appearance on the Luleå bench in the Elite League, but it seemed like he never got a chance to step out on the ice. Maybe if he would have, Detroit would have never drafted him, because Wikström has never made it in a senior team. Among juniors, such a big player may appear as dominating, but despite of his size, he is not a very physical player and not very trustable on his own blueline, concerning passing and quick change of play. I don’t know where John will play next season, but I do know that it is highly unlikely that he’ll ever make it to Detroit. Probably not even to the Swedish Elite League. Maybe he’ll be a solid defender in the Swedish 1st division one day.

PIERRE HEDIN, 6’3″, 200 lbs, D, 190278, MoDo – 239th 1999, Toronto
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Canes Top Three Picks Surprised

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Thoughts on Swedish Youth Hockey

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on

In the 6th round of this year’s entry draft, the AIK defender Jan Sandström was picked by the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. If 21-year-old Sandström makes it to the NHL, he will also be the 6th player from a small town in northern Sweden called Piteå to join the league.

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The first Piteå player to play in the NHL was the Islander defenseman Stefan Persson. During his NHL career (1977-86), he was fortunate to win three Stanley Cups with the Islanders. Persson played 622 NHL regular season games, and scored 369 points and 574 PIM. In a recent voting among journalists he was nominated to be the 6th best Swedish defenseman ever to play the game of hockey.
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